Livability

Livability

Integrating art with the transit experience can have a significant positive impact on a community’s overall livability.

IMPROVED COMMUNITY LIVABILITY
Integrating art with the transit experience can have a significant positive impact on an area’s overall livability. As travelers choose mass transit over cars: air quality will improve, making the area healthier and safer for all living things; the area will become more walkable as stations become focal points for the neighborhood and businesses respond by increasing services nearby; and the sense of community will be enhanced as people interact with one another and gain an increased pride in place. Integrating art into transit stations can help to activate the transit environment and bring economic and cultural vibrancy to the communities connected by public transit.

ART CAN IMPROVE THE LIVES OF ½ MILLION BAY AREA RESIDENTS DAILY
Art is a powerful tool to make riders’ experience in transit more enjoyable and less stressful. Aesthetic enhancements attract riders, raise civic pride, create a connection with place, and provide a sense of community identity and vibrancy. Additional benefits include increased safety and easier navigation. Art can significantly decrease riders’ feelings of stress brought on by commuting, while also increasing the safety and navigability of the transit environment.

ART CREATES A SENSE OF PLACE AND INCREASES COMMUNITY PRIDE
Public art can transform transit stations into cultural landmarks and inspiring destinations that increase community pride and provide riders with an immediate, welcoming sense of place.1 2 3 Through art integration, the station environment can become a space to reveal and celebrate a community’s uniqueness—empowering residents, educating visitors, and inviting people to explore the community.4 5 6 7 Engaging local artists and community members in the integration of art into the station environment can build community cohesion and local investment.8 9 10

ART-IN-TRANSIT INCREASES PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT IN THE ARTSBART and Muni metro stations serve more than 169 million people annually11—over 280 times more people than are served by our region’s most frequently visited museums. Our underground transit corridors—the region’s most densely utilized public spaces—represent a tremendous opportunity to engage broad spectrums of the public in the arts.

ART INCREASES RIDERSHIPArtistically redefined stations are proven to increase ridership: Buenos Aires’ transit ridership doubled after the infusion of art in their subway.12 Studies of the art-in-transit programs in Buenos Aires, Naples, Vancouver, and New York reveal that artistically enhanced transit environments make people more likely to take transit,13 14 15 and that people are willing to pay more, endure longer wait times, and travel farther to access aesthetically enhanced transit lines or stations.16

ART-IN-TRANSIT CREATES HEALTHIER AND SAFER COMMUNITIES
As art is proven to increase transit ridership and reduce reliance on cars, the benefits of art-in-transit include improved air quality, reduced pollution-related property deterioration, and improved respiratory health. Illness related to poor air quality is estimated to cause as many deaths per year as traffic accidents.17 Fewer cars and more people also lead to safer sidewalks and crossways for pedestrians and bicyclists. Transit-oriented communities have only about a quarter the per capita traffic fatality rate as residents of automobile-dependent communities.18

Increased ridership as a result of art enhancements can improve a community’s walkability. An increase in walking has substantial health implications, including an increase in physical activity, a decrease in obesity, and reduced symptoms of depression.19 20 Art-enhanced public transit further promotes healthier communities by creating a sense of place and belonging among residents and visitors, and improving understanding among diverse populations.21 22 23 24 Finally, the presence of art in the transit corridors is proven to diminish vandalism, crime, aggression, social isolation, and transportation-related stress.25 26

ART-IN-TRANSIT IMPROVES OUR ENVIRONMENT
Trains offer an energy-efficient means to transport people en mass, reducing congestion on roadways and improving air quality for everyone. Emissions of CO2 per passenger/Km are, on average, approximately half that of travel by car.27 A single commuter switching his or her commute to public transportation can reduce a household’s carbon emissions by 10 percent.28 As outlined by HUD, DOT, and EPA, increasing public transportation use has the following benefits: it decreases household transportation costs, reduces our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, improves air and water quality, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and promotes public health.29 30 31

ART-IN-TRANSIT REDUCES COST OF LIVING
Art is proven to encourage use of public transportation, which can effectively reduce transportation costs for community members. Living in a location where only one car per home is needed can reduce total housing and transportation costs to 50 percent of income or less.32 Furthermore, a rise in ridership (which is directly associated with aesthetic improvements in stations) can increase service frequency, which can have a major impact on property value. From 2006-2011, residential property values performed 42 percent better on average if they were located near public transportation with high-frequency service.33

ART IMPROVES ECONOMIC VITALITY
Public art is an important aspect of a healthy city, helping it to progress economically and catalyze community regeneration.34 Dollars spent on public art are also an investment in the community. Public art can transform transit stations into cultural landmarks, dynamic destinations, and gateways into the neighborhoods they represent. An art-enhanced station draws visitors, stimulates commerce in the surrounding neighborhood, and increases the attractiveness of the area to businesses and skilled professionals, making people more confident about investing in that community.35 36 37 38 39 40 On a wide scale, an art-enhanced mass transit system can draw the attention of tourists and decision makers, increasing the attractiveness of the city and region for national and international events.41

Aesthetics are also proven to influence local GDP. “The Soul of the Community” Gallup survey of 26 cities in the US found that people’s loyalty and passion for their community is overwhelmingly driven by three factors: a community’s social offerings, how welcoming it is to all kinds of people, and its aesthetics. Improving our transit system through the arts will address each of these three factors. The study further shows that when people feel better about where they live, they may be more entrepreneurial and productive. Communities with the highest percentage of people with a strong emotional connection to their city have the highest local gross domestic product growth rates over time.42

15 Seixas, Naomi. “Does Art matter? Assessing the Social Value of Public Art in New York City’s Transit System.” Tracing the City: Interventions of Art and Public Space. Adapted for ‘Urban Encounters: Art and the Public’ from a demonstration of professional competence submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science and Regional Planning, School of Architecture, Pratt Institute. May 2013. http://tracingthecity.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Does-Art-Matter.pdf

16 Cascetta, Ennio and Armando Carteni. The hedonic value of railway terminals. A quantitative analysis of the impact of stations quality on traveler’s behavior. 2012. Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, University of Napoli Frederico II, Naples, Italy.